Letters to the editor

Querido Gurudev: Pamho. TgSP y sus seguidores fieles.

Espero que se encuentre bien de salud cuando reciba este mensaje y lamento mucho que se haya visto involucrado en "problemas" ? caseros.

Nosotros estamos esperando la llegada del bebé y yo, ya me estoy acostumbrando a vivir con las molestias en la espalda........"asasvatam dukhalayam". La naturaleza material es algo divino. Está claro que Krisna es el Creador Supremo.

En cuanto al Templo de Madrid le diré que me alegro mucho de ver la carta de Sananda y Bhadra Vardhana y saber que hay un grupo de unos diez devotos dispuestos a comprometerse. Para mí a llegado el momento de dar un paso atrás para que ellos puedan tomar responsabilidad y trabajar con tranquilidad. Ahora tendré que dedicar mas tiempo a la vida familiar. Tanto Purnamasi como yo trabajamos y con dos niños pequeños tendremos que aportar los dos una parte importante de nuestro tiempo.

Gracias por la valiosa ayuda que nos presta y lamento que haya tenido que estar, de alguna manera, en ansiedad por nuestras propias miserias.

Sin más se despide

su sirviente

              HpS - Jaya. TlgaSP.  Pfanrh.....    Nuevo Vaisnava, Jaya!        Espero tambien su cuerpo es mejor....   Estamos bien aqui.   Honestamente los desafios administrativos que yo veo de mi perspective de Madrid no son mal. Hay la misma en casi cualquire proyecto (de ISKCON) en esta mundo. Para devotos, como Vd esta indicando en su carta, es bueno. Yo pienso todos son dignos de respeto por sus esfuerzas (Monocito y Puerquecito tambien) y adelantamos....   Hay muchos, muchos, mas desafilos como convertir participar directamente con Krsna y Arjuna en la proxima vida, no?

Cuando viene la Bebe????????

Aun hay programa para ninos Domingo?

Hare Krishna!

Please accept my respectful obeisances to your softly apple blossom feet

                ASA - AGTSP.....  Oink!      Oink!

All Glories to Srila Prabhupada

All Glories to Sri Guru & Sri Gauranga

I'm sorry for having not write before, i have just recover my mind from the past struggles for adjusting rithms

last time i wrote to you, i was studying SB and doing BBT service, with a nice sadhana, going nice controlling tongue and saving my prasad for next day ;)

The past 27/07 i went for my first day in school (lic. in philology) (since 4-5 years no studying "wordly") it was very exciting, nevertheless, very shocking, i will just present at school once every 2 weeks on saturday, the rest of the time i'm on my own, making research work to present my printed documets to the professor next module, im having bad time to adjust myself and balance BBT service, practical service, sankirtana (actually its almost 2 days per month), making homework and also try to read SP's Books!

In the closing party of Pada-Padma and Bhakti-Sastri the 10th August the prasadam was almost 9-10 oclock so i was really hungry and took dinner (i could not keep the no-dinner vow for 4-july-2014) next day happened the same thing when we moved all of our things to the home back in the town.

After all the rigor i put into myself for advancing in BBT service during the whole curse, i fell asleep on my laurels and took several days of lazyness!! just doing mangalaratik, japa and watching some movies during the day(K.C. and even Karmi) doing just the homework but no BBT for all this week (since monday untill Ekadasi) there i took some inspiration to fast and doing extra japa and 12 Hours of BBT service! i felt so nice.

The thing is all those ups and downs are completely Pasion mode, and with the time i know if i keep like this i will not last maintaining my service, neither the study, i need your blessings and a drop of   enthusiasm and inspiration to improve myself and get the desire to reach at least Goodnes platform.

Thank you for taking your valuable time helping this little little boy

Your ever-aspiring servant

Bhakta Christian

             ASA - Jaya!       We are facing the SAME problems by moving into our office here in Tennessee and trying to focus our service more on writing what we see as essential. We have the same "falldowns" but maybe because we have more experience than you, maybe we start making adjustments faster than you. It is a challenge but fun. On the other hand, even though we may have more experience than you, you may be more sincere than we are so maybe you can adjust faster.

Learning Sadhana bhakti means learning how to do it in many circumstances.  Then we can responded quickly to changes like good soldiers!!!

Todas Las Glorias a Sri Sri Gour Nitay!!!

Todas Las Glorias a Srila Prabhupada!!!

Todas Las Glorias sean a Usted!!!

   Hare Krishna Guru Maharaja, por favor acepte mis humildes reverencias, muchas gracias por Su respuesta, prometo no dejar Brahma Muhurta!!!, quería preguntarle si va a venir a Chile?, espero que esté muy bien, muchas gracias por Su tiempo, Reverencias.

   Su sirvienta,

   Dhanistha devi dasi.

                 HpS - ASA ---   TlgaSP......       pfanrh.....     No se, el calendario de viaje.  Aparece vamos a Sud America como Enero.   Solamente pensando en Vd. estamos recordando mucho bhava en Chile.  Adelante!    El nuevo Chile!!!

Hare Krsna Maharaja,

Please accept my humble obeisances.  All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

I know I should wait until your response to my last letter before writing again, but I have more anguish to express.  Though I am trying to try hard for Krsna and to not fall down, which is always just around the corner, I get so depressed thinking of how my spiritual life has not even begun, no matter how hard I am trying right now or in the past.  I feel so helpless, if I were to die tomorrow, I would be lost to Krsna... it is very dangerous.

My last letter might have sounded like I am jealous of initated devotees.  That is not what I meant.  What I mean to express is I am jealous after initiation itself.  How can I love Krsna if my spiritual life has not even begun?  This is the cause of much anguish and depression for me.  How can I bring others to Krsna if my own spiritual life has not started?  How could I help them if I leave my body before I can love Krsna myself?

No matter how much I might cry and try for Krsna, I am still just a rascal and a fool with no link back to Him.  My prayer is that I might live long enough to begin my spiritual life and receive the bhakti lata bija so that someday I might be able to begin to love Krsna...

Hoping to become,
Your servant,
Bhakta David II

            HpS - Jaya!!!    AGTSP...  We talked  a LOT about this in the last letter.  We will look for any more recent response from you.

Hare Krsna Maharaja,

Please accept my humble obeisances.  All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

I am happy to hear you enjoyed hearing of the associates of Sri Sri Radha Damodara.  I do not know if the restaurant near Gita Nagari is open currently.

             HpS - ASA -  AGTSP      we were asking about the Denver Temple's, Govinda's Buffet.

I moved to Denver 2 years ago from Maryland, so what I wrote of Radha Damodara's associates is from memory.

I left out a very important associate of Radha Damodara in my previous posting.  Bhakti Tirtha Maharaja is very dear to Them, even to this day, for he is still alive in the spiritual world.  There was a time when I was considering taking initiation under him, as he is very inspiring.  I chose not to, because I had a sentiment that it would be nice if my wife and I could have the same guru.  I could see in 2003 or so that might not be possible, as Maharaja was not going to be around forever in vapu, so I failed to get initiated.  Since then I had looked at 3 other Maharajas for some time each, as Srila Prabhupada said one should look into a guru for some time before considering initiation, but did not feel as inspired or connected to any of them as I have to you.  As I have mentioned, it did not work out in marriage, and some of that was that in the end, I was the one with a desire to surrender to guru.

Maharaja, I am going through an anartha right now.  Spiritual life begins with initiation, correct?

                HpS - ASA - As far we understand it is like investigating different schools, their curriculum, fee structure, character. In the course of that you may sit in on a few couses with the instructor's permission.  Then you decide you want engineering not law and Mudge Coller, not Budge College, is the place for you. You satisfy the requirements for matriculation and start taking the courses. Some you have already had so you advance quickly but it is now formal and their is credit.

So does that mean what I am doing now, attending mangala arati (sometimes early to get a few rounds in), chanting 16 rounds (but 24-32 for the past month, sometimes only 20), only taking prasad the past 10+ years, no garlic/onion/mushroom, strict celibacy, no gambling/intoxication, occasional service for Radha Govinda, reading Srila Prabhupada's booka, prayer, etc, is all not spiritual life?  Does this mean devotional service starts with initiation?  I feel like the past 10+ years, and now while my chanting, mangala arati, etc have increased, that I am a big pretender, an offensive imitator, a rascal and a fool because I am not initiated.

               HpS - Most of the answer above.  Everyone is different. Prabhupada took long time to initiation after meeting Bh. Siddhanta Sarasvati.    If you are sincere then the formality will happen, just like a boy and girl who are dedicated to each other.  Chaste, but there still has to be a wedding.  It is a formality but not a formality without meaning.

I want very much to be in the service of Radha and Krishna, but I am so fallen that I haven't even taken the first step toward coming to them (initiation).  If someone new to the movement were to take initiation, they would be senior to me.  If someone were initiated bit stopped following, at least they were initiated, whereas I am so lowly that even though I may be following (or at least appear to be following), at least they are initiated and are my senior, worthy of all respects.  I am just a dog and an ass, but even a dog can chant, at least.

This has been troubling me for the past 10 years, but even moreso now that I am striving harder to finally attain to spiritial life.

Hoping to become,
Your servant,
Bhakta David II

    HpS - Here is a classical discussion of this point. Little dense maybe.  Tell us what you think!    http://vedabase.com/en/cc/madhya/15/102